Two to be tested in New York City in early 2014 with a pair of smart fortwo EVs.
HEVO power wireless charging station. Photo by HEVO Power.As automakers begin offering more electric vehicles, one of the obstacles to widespread EV adoption is easy access to charging stations. And, of course, the associated range anxiety.
We’ve heard of plans for New York City to use its plentiful (and now largely unused, thanks to cell phones) public pay phones as EV charging stations. Now a NYC-based company has plans to convert another object that the Big Apple has in abundance – manhole covers – and convert them into wireless EV charging stations.
“I was walking down the street, pondering how wireless charging could be deployed,” Jeremy McCool, CEO and founder HEVO Power told Wired. “I was looking down and saw a manhole cover. And thought, that’s the ticket. There are no cords, no hazards. Everything can be underneath the manhole cover.”
A HEVO Power Station, along with all the necessary wires and components, can be installed under a street or parking space. On the surface, it resembles a manhole cover and is reinforced with a highly durable resin exterior that can withstand 25,000 psi.
The receiver for the charging system is installed along the drivetrain of the vehicle, weighs about 10 pounds and performs an AC/DC conversion for an EV’s battery. A HEVO smartphone app automatically recognizes the vehicle and handles billing. Drivers can also use the app to locate HEVO Power Stations and determine their availability.
HEVO will installed its first two street-level wireless charging stations in New York’s Washington Square Park in early 2014 for a pair of smart fortwo EVs operated by New York University. In addition to the NYU program, HEVO is also working with commercial vehicle manufacturer E-Ride to roll out larger fleet programs with companies such as PepsiCo and Walgreens.
As Wired noted, HEVO’s style of charging would be ideal for electrically powered commercial vehicles that make frequent stops throughout the day. The company also plans to install its charging station at car dealerships in the near future.
McCool, a former U.S. Army Captain and part of the Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) group, launched HEVO in November 2011 while a grad student in urban policy and sustainability at Columbia University. “This is the kind of ecosystem that needs to exist [for EVs],” he said.
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http://editorial.autos.msn.com/blog...anhole-cover-in-new-york-city?icid=autos_4885
